


Last Dance with Mary Kane

by DuchessOfBurgundy



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4
Genre: European Politics, Family Burdens, Gen, Marriage, Post-Canon, Wine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 23:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19187422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuchessOfBurgundy/pseuds/DuchessOfBurgundy
Summary: Mitsuru runs into her ex-fiancé at a gala, but thankfully Naoto is on-hand to mediate.





	Last Dance with Mary Kane

_“You should try a glass, Shirogane. It’s quite good here.”_

I take a sip of what the waiter assured me is _pinot noir,_ but my gesture does nothing to tempt the young detective. Perhaps it’s the effect of the alcohol, but I can no longer recall the purpose of her being here. It _certainly_ wasn’t to enjoy herself, if her dour expression is any indication. “No thank-you, Kirijo-san. I prefer a sober mind.”

I take another tantalizing drink, but Shirogane is undeterred. The familiarity of her discipline brings a smile to my face. “Hmm… I used to be just like you. But unfortunately I was born into wine, so now I find it impossible to resist.” This piques her interest, so I indulge her in my tragic backstory:

“When my father passed, he willed that the family’s stake in our company be liquidated; better to not burden his daughter with the responsibility of leading the Group, he thought. The only worldly possession he left me was a cellar full of wine. It was his _intention_ that the two of us would consume it together, so I might learn to place a glass within fifty kilometers of where it fermented…”

I raise my drink to inspect it, but the only thing that jogs my memory is the corporate logo emblazoned onto the foot. I let it back down disgustedly. “…It was reckless idealism on his part.”

Shirogane gazes out into the hall, probably to dwell upon her own follies. But then her eyes narrow, and she chuckles softly. “It appears you have an admirer.”

I glance over, and spot a masculine figure pushing his way through the crowd towards us. I reach for my glass and inhale its remaining contents, realizing too late that its effects aren’t nearly potent enough. At some point I developed a tolerance for liquor; in hindsight that was a mistake.

 _“Mitsuru Kirijo,_ fancy seeing you here.” The man takes his place at our table, across from Shirogane. “You look as lovely as ever… What was your word for it? _Magnifique?_ You were always so eloquent.”

“Sasaina.” The name of my ex-fiancé. “ _You_ look…” I give him the once-over, and my analysis astonishes me. I’ve never seen a man so gray – Sasaina isn’t even that old, and yet his black hair has faded to match the shade of his tattered suit. The _schadenfreude_ value of this image is enough to make me lose my manners. “Well, to be _frank,_ you look like shit.”

And with that, Shirogane’s composure is finally broken.

“Who’s your _friend?_ ” He sneers at my companion, while undoubtedly trying to discern her class.

 _“This_ is Naoto Shirogane. She’s a colleague of mine, and _also_ a good friend.” I glance over at her and smile, causing her to blush faintly. “I’m not sure where I’d be without her… Oh, but _you_ would know!”

The irritation is boiling over behind Sasaina’s eyes. “Fine, if you _must_ hear… I’ve fallen on hard times. The stipend my father left for me has nearly run dry, and I haven’t been in a management position ever since–“ He scowls at me, and my memory fills in the blank. The waiter stops by with another drink, and I raise the glass to my lips, wryly.

“But that’s life, isn’t it? If you live by your inheritance, then you die by it.”

Sasaina shakes his head disdainfully. “Perhaps. But _you_ seem to have done well enough for yourself. _Chief executive officer?_ That’s a big responsibility for someone as young as you…” He leans in, his eyes full of longing. “…And yet somehow you still find the time to be _beautiful.”_

I feel a hand on my knee, and the sensation works its way up my spine. “Sometimes I like to imagine what our life together would’ve been, Kirijo.”

The table jolts sharply, and Sasaina leaps from his chair. “OW!” He glares at Shirogane menacingly. _“You insolent worm!_ How dare you assault me!? You should know your place in–“

 _"Let’s not do this again.”_ My words send a shudder through Sasaina, and he takes his seat.

A moment passes as he massages his ego; then he unwittingly finds the perfect comeback. “What ever happened to that blue-haired boy, anyway?”

“Oh, Minato? He…” I feel my depression welling up, and before I can stop myself I give away too much. “He perished in a tragic accident.” Minato’s death has always been a tender spot for me; and Sasaina must sense it, for he tenses up in anticipation. He’s ready to move in for the kill, but I have one last option to defend myself…

I cock an eyebrow at him and grin. His eyes grow wide, and he shrinks back into his chair.

Now _I’m_ on the offensive. I tilt my head like some great cat sighting its prey, and say to him, “Do you want to know what our marriage _really_ would’ve been like?” His breath catches in his throat, and the grayness in his face becomes every slightly darker…

“I take it you’re familiar with the European Union?”

Sasaina scoffs in an exasperated fashion. “Well of course! My family has connections in Brussels, after all. But I don’t see how–“

“Do you know why it was _founded?”_ His brow narrows confusedly. I enlighten him. “Some time after the Second World War, the leaders of France collectively said, ‘Well that was pretty awful. Let’s make sure it never happens again.’ So they brought together all the other NATO-allied European states and made one big trading bloc, on the _assumption_ they could tie down West Germany through economic treaties and make a future war unthinkable.”

Sasaina looks unimpressed, but I continue. “However, after the Berlin Wall fell and Germany reunited, the bloc came to serve an entirely different function: to act as a ready-made market for German goods, and an extended labor pool to reinforce its aging population. This effect was made most apparent during the last economic crisis; while Greece, Italy and Spain went into a protracted recession, Germany recovered almost immediately and has been growing ever since.

" _In other words…”_ I rise to my feet and tower over the sick little man. “It took a relationship that was _meant_ to be exploitative, _turned it around…”_ I twirl a finger through the air, and Sasaina’s hands move instinctively towards his pelvis. “ _…And found a way to make it work to its advantage.”_

Sasaina gulps. “Perhaps it’s best that I got out when I did.” Then he leaves his chair and makes a beeline for the exit.

Satisfied, I return to my seat. I glance over at Shirogane, expecting to see her with a jovial expression. But instead she just looks at me stone-faced. The darkness finds me again, and I reach for my glass. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m becoming a monster. The last time Sasaina ran from me like that, he was my oppressor and I was throwing off my shackles. _This_ time it was like stepping on an ant.”

A few moments pass between us in silence. I’m starting to get a clearer picture of why Shirogane is here: I _need_ someone who can reign in my more vile impulses. I’m almost ready to call it a night when she decides to question my prior ramblings. "What do you suppose is the difference between a monster and a freak?"

This puzzles me in more ways than one. "I don't know... I guess they're very similar. Though, I should only expect to see the latter at a circus." I attempt a smile, but Shirogane's hard stare seems to indicate this is a personal matter for her. "What do _you_ think it is?"

"I'm not sure, but I've never been made to feel like the former." I take pity in Shirogane as the shadows creep over her eyes; now is clearly the time for wine. "Whenever I step into a police station, I'm met with the same pressures – 'you're too young', 'you're a woman', et cetera. It's not always _said_ but it's communicated nonetheless."

She appears to think to herself, and then returns my sympathetic gaze warmly. "But I endure it and press on; otherwise I couldn't live up to my grandfather's legacy." The elder Shirogane is a renowned detective himself, and the perfect role model for my friend to have as an ancestor. Not like a certain scumbag in _my_ heritage...

"Kirijo-san, you can never escape your family name. It will be a mark upon you until the day you die, and perhaps longer." The truth hurts, even when under the influence. "Your father must've known this, for it was _his_ burden as well. Maybe he was wiser than you give him credit for... By disempowering you, he could prevent you from lashing out at your detractors, and consequentially damaging yourself." Shirogane smiles ironically. "Hence you would always be a _freak,_ but never a monster."

The music swells somewhere in the distance. I've been ignoring it until now; but seeing as this _is_ a gala, its presence is only appropriate. "Whatever my father's intentions _were,_ I sought out and acquired that power anyway. I'm someone who cannot cede an inch of autonomy – not anymore. It's as you said, Shirogane... The world is like some great _concert."_ She grins at the connection to my previous outburst with Sasaina. "When an instrument rises above the din, it is perceived as dissonant."

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about Europe.”

 _“Oh?”_ This piques my interest, so I allow her to continue.

“Well, it’s like any other relationship, really. If there’s _reciprocity_ then it can work. I figure if they took the Euro and created a system of _federal transfers–“_

“No, that’s small-brain thinking.” Shirogane scowls at me, and I giggle. “It’s not the European Union that’s broken, but rather the whole idea of exclusive trading agreements. You can never get everything you need from a bilateral relationship; and the longer you stay inside of one, the more exploitative it becomes…”

I take another sip of wine, and then the most remarkable sensation washes over me. It’s as if I’m seeing in color for the first time this evening. I turn to Shirogane. “Say, what do you think they’ll call the EU when it’s just France and Germany left?”

“I don’t know… the _Frankish_ Union? That’s the last time those countries were united, anyway.”

I swirl my glass around, letting the red liquid slosh about. “Are you _sure_ that’s correct?”

Shirogane seems both amused and perturbed by my sanguine attitude. _“Obviously_ we won’t be calling it the Fourth Reich. So unless you have a _better_ idea–“

“Mmm, but I do.” I whet my palate, and the knowledge of thirty generations is finally awakened within me. _“Burgundian.”_


End file.
